News

This Week in Digital – 09/15/17

“This Week in Digital” is a weekly review of what caught our attention. This week’s review is brought to you by Alex Cerelli, Account Coordinator and a member of theMAVERICK Digital Team.

September is an exciting month for digital news. Apple – in typical Apple fashion – launched an array of new products this week. Apple previewed its new operating system, iOS 11, the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, an Apple Watch that can connect to a cellular network without an iPhone, and an Apple 4K TV device. Most significant, and creating the most hype, is the $1000+ iPhone X – an exclusive anniversary edition of the iPhone. Apple, the ultimate tech disruptor, chose to remove the staple home button from the iPhone X, and feature infrared Face Identification in its place. The iPhone X will also feature wireless charging capabilities and an enhanced camera.

The most pressing question of the day – how does the iPhone 8 stack up against the iPhone X? As you can see, the X has undergone a radical change and looks unlike any other iPhone. iPhone X features an almost edge-to-edge display that is similar to the newest Samsung and Essential devices. The iPhone 8 on the other hand follows the trajectory of the 7. Both devices will wield the same 12-megapixel camera, with a portrait mode capable of taking pictures once only previously captured by DSLR and SLR cameras. The most significant difference is the 8 will still have the touch ID home button, whereas the X will use new TrueDepth facial recognition. Both can be used to unlock the device, pay and login to apps.

Facial recognition technology will also have an impact on how we communicate socially. The infrared camera – in addition to unlocking the phone – has the capacity to pick up our facial expressions and movements, then converting them into emojis that respond to our movements like an advanced filter. More significantly, the technology will also be able to track habits and measure our response. Marketers are already considering ways to translate this into sales. In theory, market researchers could study how people react to advertisements, whether we smile at an ad, laugh, or disapprove. In their announcement, Apple could have revolutionized market research methods.

If there is one detail that puts a damper on the iPhone X announcement, it’s the price. At a base price of $1,319 CAD, it becomes the most expensive smart phone on the market.

Instagram also rolled out a new feature allowing users to share stories Directly. However, once the original story “expires,” it also expires from Direct messages. Stories are supposed to be happening in almost “real time” and have been inherently temporary, which is why they do not become permanent once they have been sent. If you don’t want your stories being shared, you can disable this feature.